I have had a terrible three days.  On Tuesday I let the ferts all out to
play.  When my husband got home the only Fert who came out to greet him was
Calvin.  This was strange they all usually mob him at the door.  But I did
not think too hard on it right then.  About 5pm the phone rang the neighbor
two houses down had a ferret!  My son ran down and sure enough it was
Clooney.  The panic set in how did he get out?  WHERE WERE HOBBES AND
BOOTES?  5:30 another neighbor calls they have a ferret also.  Again Evan
runs down comes home with BOOTES.  Now where is Hobbes.  No more phone
calls.  We search the neighborhood nothing.  We are hysterical our baby is
gone.  I started searching the house how did they get out.  Then I found
it, a torn screen in the back room.  They must have found a little hole
made it bigger and escaped.  All night we worried, cried, felt guilt.  I
have never felt such heart tearing guilt.  The next morning I searched the
yard calling and calling.  I made flyers had 100 printed, put them in every
mail box (I know send me to jail I will plead insanity) in a four mile
radius of the house.  I put them in the stores in town and on telephone
poles and stop signs.
 
Then I went home to wait for calls.  Nothing.  I called the Animal Control
officer he said he would call it he got a ferret call.  Nothing.  Now it is
night again, it is cold.  Despair sets in.  Two nights in the woods one
night in the rain.  The other ferrets are all acting very subdued.  The
are "clingy" they hover around my feet and want to be held.  Clooney has
suddenly started to give unsolicited kisses each time I pick him up.  They
miss Hobbes.  Thursday I got up early and went to an appointment then went
and had new ID tags made for all the babies including Hobbes.  I came home
and went about daily stuff in a little cloud.  Then last night at 5 PM the
phone rang.  A man on the other end asked me if I had lost something I
started to cry.  A wonderful man and his wife brought a dirty hungry Hobbes
home to me.  They found him around the corner from my house he was thinking
of crossing the street.  The man said I told my wife I saw a white weasel
she said I was crazy.  I stopped the car got out called to the little guy
and he came right to me.  The people took him home put him in a box on a
towel gave him water and some bread (they did not know what he would eat
but he ate the bread fast)!  They tried to call but I was out so they
called again and again.  Thanks be to God we had a happy ending to our
story.  Every time the ferts are out now we count noses when they go in now
play time is timed two hours out one in etc.  My husband said he never felt
such pain over any animal we have ever lost.  I know some out their are
going through this now with babies that have passed over the bridge.  To
the people who have been missing their little one for 10 days my heart goes
out to you.  I feel so lucky to be owned by ferrets!
 
Petal and the Desperadoes
Calvin (I'm glad Hobbes is home ma)
Hobbes (I had a real venture huh ma Could I have some more cheerios))
Clooney (well I started it I opened the little hole)
Bootes (Well I made the lady net door yell)
[Posted in FML issue 2443]